State to seek taxes from Web sales
Michigan
and 17 other states have set Oct. 1 as the official start of a
coordinated effort to collect more taxes from Internet and mail-order
companies.
The Michigan Department of Treasury said
representatives of 18 states voted on the Oct. 1 effective date of the
Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement.
The agreement's goal is
to simplify and modernize tax collection across state lines and set up a
voluntary system to encourage sellers to collect and pay taxes. By law,
Internet and direct-mail companies are not required to collect and remit
sales taxes on transactions in states where they have no physical
presence.
As of Oct. 1, companies will have access to an
Internet-based point-of-sales tax registration for participating states
and software to assist in sales-tax collection responsibilities. There
also is an amnesty period for retailers that should be collecting taxes
but aren't.
SpamStopsHere releases enterprise
edition
Ann Arbor-based Greenview Data Inc. released
SpamStopsHere Enterprise Edition.
The company said the new
product has an accuracy rating of over 99 percent and a false positive
ratio of less than 1 in 100,000.
Syntel sues over
trademark
Troy-based Syntel Inc. has filed suit to protect its
branding slogan from being used by a Texas company.
Syntel filed a
lawsuit against Austin, Texas-based Consider It Done Inc., an
information-technology services company. "Consider IT Done" is a service
mark that Syntel registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office
and has used since 1997, according to Syntel's complaint.
Syntel
is asking the court to rule that the Texas company going by the name
Consider It Done is infringing on Syntel's federal trademark and
violating federal unfair- competition laws. Syntel says it wants the
court to order Consider It Done to stop using the name because it is
confusingly similar to Syntel's branding slogan.
Ann Arbor
Technologies sold
Industrial computer manufacturer Dynics Inc.
has acquired competitor Ann Arbor Technologies for an undisclosed
sum.
The purchase will provide Ann Arbor Technologies with more
production capabilities, such as access to Dynics' in-house sheet metal
shop, the company said. It also will give Dynics access to Ann Arbor
Technologies' distributor base. That network consists of up to 37
distributors nationwide, compared with Dynics' seven regional
distributors before the acquisition.
A total of 30 employees from
both companies moved in June to the former office of SaarGummi GmbH on
Varsity Drive in Ann Arbor.
The 15,000-square-foot facility is
larger than Dynics' former 8,000-square-foot building and provides room
to buy up to $400,000 in new equipment that will boost production
capability.
Reliance teams with Ford Health
System
Henry Ford Health System signed a three-year contract
to use technical services from Farmington Hills-based Reliance Software
Systems Inc. (RelWare) to create a new electronic medical
record.
RelWare is expected to provide consulting, architecture
and Web-based clinical applications for a computerized provider-order
entry system. The software architecture and development will be based on
RelWare's product line.
RelWare is a health care technology
company that uses browser-based software to support physicians,
clinicians and other health care providers.
Catuity faces
Nasdaq delisting
Detroit-based Catuity Inc. faces delisting
from the Nasdaq stock system for a third time in less than a year,
according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission.
According to the filing, Catuity fell out of
compliance with Nasdaq guidelines after the death of board member Alan
Gilman, who died June 9, and the June 22 resignation of Chairman Duncan
Mount.
Nasdaq rules require listed companies to maintain three
independent directors on the audit committee of any publicly traded
company. Gilman and Mount were members of the audit
committee.
Catuity makes software used by retailers to maintain
their shopper-loyalty programs.
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